'1984' vision of police state becoming reality

Profiled: Citizens jailed for criticizing government, buying water

Across the United States, high-school students read George Orwell’s seminal work "1984."

In it, protagonist Winston Smith is given a horrifying picture of life under a tyrannical regime.

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"But always – do not forget this, Winston – always there will be the intoxication of power, constantly increasing and constantly growing subtler. Always, at every moment, there will be the thrill of victory, the sensation of trampling on an enemy who is helpless. If you want a picture of the future, imagine a boot stamping on a human face – forever."

Written by Orwell in the late 1940s, the dystopian date of "1984" is now 30 years passed. But that doesn't mean the nightmarish world of complete state control is gone.

Now, on May 27, a new voice will appear to warn Americans the Orwellian image of a boot stamping forever on the human face is inching closer.

Chumley, a full-time reporter for the Washington Times, writes about politics and government for various newspapers, Internet news sites and think tanks. She is a journalism fellow with the Phillips Foundation, a prestigious organization in Washington, D.C., where she spent a year researching and writing about private property rights.

From traffic light cameras to phone tapping, from militarized police forces to huge purchase orders by departments of the federal government for billions of rounds of ammunition, the government is increasing its control over individual lives.

"Police State USA" chronicles how America got to the point of being a de facto police state, what led to it and how citizens might overcome it and recapture the freedoms envisioned by the Founding Fathers.

In the foreword, Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, writes: "'What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.' This was Solomon's observation as the wisest of all kings. How does it apply here? Cheryl Chumley lays out clearly what is happening in this country now has happened to countries in the past, and the consequences are clear.

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"People have liberty; people take liberty for granted; people become apathetic; people lose their liberty. We are on that track, but detouring back to the freedom road is still possible.

"Though there has never been a country in world history whose citizens have enjoyed the individual liberties found in the United States today, there have been countries whose citizens went from enjoying individual liberties to being oppressed by increasingly totalitarian rulers. Drawing from available information around us, Cheryl points out the shocking usurpations of our freedoms."

The book describes the case of a former Marine living in Virginia.

It was August 2012, and he "was taken into custody, thrown in jail, and forcibly transferred to a hospital located nearly three hours from his home and family to undergo a psychiatric evaluation, all at the order of law enforcement officials."

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"His crime? He posted on his private Facebook page messages that painted the government in a poor light."

Then there was the July 2013 case of a University of Virginia student. She was "swarmed by state Alcoholic Beverage Control agents who thought the carton of bottled water she was carrying across the parking lot of a grocery store was really a 12-pack of beer and she was an underage buyer."

"She said one drew her gun, another jumped on the hood of her SUV, and still others shouted conflicting orders and flashed badges she couldn’t read. Terrified, she tried to flee in her SUV, but agents halted and arrested her, charging her with two counts of assault.

"Even the commonwealth's attorney who investigated the incident found the case ridiculous and refused to prosecute. But the 20-year-old still spent a night in jail – for the crime of purchasing water."